


M1903 Springfield

by atwas



Category: Call of Cthulhu: Path of Perdition (Web Series), Internet Remix, Rolling with Remix: Masks of Nyarlathotep (Web Series)
Genre: Canon Compliant, During Time-Skip, Gen, M/M, Post-Path of Perdition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:21:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28770024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atwas/pseuds/atwas
Summary: Finger on the trigger... take a breath... and on the exhale...Jeff Cooper's Four Rules:1. All guns are always loaded.2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.4. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.
Relationships: Sunil Pandey & Kit Sullivan, Sunil Pandey/Kit Sullivan
Kudos: 10





	M1903 Springfield

"Keep your elbows in."

Sunil adjusted his stance at Kit's gentle touch, and tucked his elbows in closer to his body. The stance felt unnatural, and the rifle was heavy in his hands.

"Keeping your elbows out like that is a bad habit. If you shoot like that, the recoil will hit you much harder than if you kept your arms straighter. Also, it makes you a larger target," he added almost as an afterthought.

Sunil gave Kit a look. In the periphery of his vision, he swore he saw a bit of a smile as Kit circled around behind him to inspect his stance.

"Keep your knees slightly bent. Feet about shoulder-width apart." Kit tapped Sunil's right foot with his shoe, and nodded as Sunil shuffled it out a little further. "Good."

Kit gently pushed down on the barrel of the rifle, so that it pointed at the ground. Sunil let his arms go slack with a sigh of relief. "I had no idea how heavy these things were."

Kit shrugged. "You got used to it. Now remember. Safety."

Sunil tapped the safety switch with a finger.

"And you keep your fingers..."

"Off the trigger, until I'm ready to fire."

"And also away from the action." Kit nudged Sunil's supporting hand farther down the barrel of the rifle, away from the place where the bolt-action snapped back and the case ejected. "Take it from someone who's gotten their fingers caught in there. You only ever make that mistake once, and I'd rather you never do."

"Right."

"Ready?"

"Yes?"

"Alright. Remember how we practiced." Kit held out a magazine. The 5 brass cartridges seemed impossibly large.

Sunil took the magazine and talked his way through it.

"Safety, on. Magazine cut-off, on." Sunil flipped a switch on the left side of the rifle up. "Bolt, up and back. Magazine, in." He slotted the clip in, and then pressed the rounds down into the rifle. "Bolt, in and down."

"Good." Kit nodded. "Try to work the bolt in one motion with your right hand. Eventually you want that movement to become second nature."

Sunil took a deep breath and set his sight down-range to where they had a target pinned up. "I think I'm ready."

"Slow and easy, take your time."

Sunil brought the rifle up, putting the stock firmly against his shoulder and resting his cheek against it. His other hand supported the barrel. After a moment, he tucked his elbows in a bit more and adjusted his stance so it was more stable. He felt Kit settle in behind him, and felt Kit's hands on his arms, adjusting his grip slightly.

"Brace it a little tighter against your body." Kit's voice was soft and quiet behind him, and Sunil obediently held the rifle tighter against himself. "There's going to be recoil. It's a high-caliber round. Be prepared for it, but don't let it scare you." Sunil nodded, his mouth suddenly dry. Kit adjusted his own stance, so that he could effectively help brace Sunil against the recoil. "You're fine."

Sunil pretended that he didn't hear the small smile in Kit's voice, just like he pretended that his knees and arms didn’t feel a dozen times weaker all of a sudden. He swallowed. "Okay. Safety off." He flipped the switch to the 'Ready' position with his thumb. "Aim down the sights."

"Keep both eyes open." Kit quietly reminded him.

"Right. Both eyes..." Sunil focused. Everything around him seemed to diminish and tunnel until his entire world was the target at the end of the rifle, and Kit, steady at his back. "Finger on the trigger... take a breath... and on the exhale..." 

Sunil smoothly pulled the trigger back, and the rifle fired with a deafening crack. The power of the shot jarred his arms as the stock of the rifle punched backwards against his shoulder. He staggered slightly, the recoil having pressed his back against Kit's chest, but he still managed to mostly keep his balance. He took a sharp, exhilarated breath. "Right. Bolt up and back to eject the casing. Then in and down to chamber the next one. Then safety back on until the next shot." Sunil felt as though he were vibrating with adrenaline and nervous energy.

"Very nice." Kit's raspy voice was very close to his ear, and Sunil felt goosebumps run up his arms and down the back of his neck. Kit lingered for a split-second before his hands dropped away from Sunil's arms, and he stepped away quickly-- almost too quickly. 

Sunil lowered the rifle down from the readied position, and let it point down at the ground. He rolled his shoulder and winced a little. "I was expecting it to kick hard, but not that hard. Thinking about it and feeling it happen are completely different." Sunil looked back to Kit, who looked slightly distracted. "Kit?"

Kit shook his head slightly, as if chasing something away, then looked up. "True. You never do know until you take the first shot." He smiled. "Think you have it in you to finish out that magazine?"

"I think so. Although, if my shoulder ends up as bruised as I think it will be, I'll consider the blame to be entirely yours."

Kit laughed. "I'll take it."

"Thank you, by the way. For teaching me."

"You're welcome. After..." Kit paused, and let the silence fill in what they both knew. "After all that, it felt important to me. That you knew how to protect yourself. Just in case, I mean."

"I appreciate that."

Kit shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and his eyes flicked away from Sunil's face. "Well. You might as well get some more practice in while we have the range time."

"Right. Right, of course."


End file.
